2024’s top 10 SA auction wishlist
FLASHY: WEIRD (AND WONDERFULLY VALUABLE) WHEELS
Cars that break all the rules, sporting designs so outlandish.
The automotive world thrives on innovation, but sometimes that quest for uniqueness veers into the downright bizarre. These are the cars that break all the rules, sporting designs so outlandish they make a Lamborghini Aventador look like a Toyota Camry.
From bubble tops to gull-wing doors and wheels that seem to defy gravity, these cars often challenge our inherent views of what cars should be, says Creative Rides Classic & Collectibles Auctions CEO Kevin Derrick.
What Wiggles the Weird-o-Meter
Derrick says peculiar design features include:
Utterly unconventional silhouettes – Forget sleek curves and aerodynamic lines; these cars are all about sharp angles, bulbous protrusions or proportions that wouldn’t look out of place in a Dr Seuss illustration.
Functionality? What functionality? – While some “weird” cars boast impressive performance, others prioritise aesthetics over aerodynamics or practicality.
Unusual proportions – An unconventional sense of scale is one of the standout features of wackier car designs. From absolutely tiny to post-apocalyptic-style monsters, bizarre comes in all sizes.
A complete disregard for trends (and sometimes taste!) – Forget following the herd. Some cars are proudly, defiantly themselves and carve their own often garish niche in the automotive landscape.
Weird wheels wishlist
Derrick says there are dozens of curious cars in the world, but among them are 10 contenders he’d most like to see coming to auction at Creative Rides this year.
1. Peel P50 (1962-1965): This pintsized peculiarity has held the Guinness World Record for the Smallest Production Car since 1962.
While P50s may look like wobbly eggs on wheels, with only 47 produced they’re big news in collector circles and reach prices in excess of R1 million at auction.
2. Reliant Robin (1973-1981): This British three-wheeler achieved global notoriety for its propensity to tip over on sharp corners.
Over 600 000 Robins were sold, and their quirky appeal continues with average auction prices hovering around R100 000.
3. BMW Isetta (1955-1962): This bubble-car micro marvel from Germany featured a front-hinged “door” that doubled as the steering wheel and instrument panel.
Hagerty notes the highest sale price achieved for this micro-Beemer to be R1.72 million, while models in good condition fetch around R800 000.
4. The Cyclops of cars is the Tucker 48 – otherwise known as the Tucker Torpedo.
According to Hagerty, the most recent sale price for a Tucker 48 was around R38.15 million.
5. DeLorean DMC-12 (1981-1983): Immortalised forever on the silver screen as Back to the Future’s time travelling chariot, this angular ’80s gull-wing was produced with a novel stainless-steel finish. The movie created a cult following for the strangely boxy car.
One of the seven original Back to the Future cars was sold for R44.2 million, but in general DMC12s in good condition fetch upwards of R2.3 million at auction.
6. Stutz Blackhawk (1971-1981): This flashy luxury car had an elongated bonnet, a pert boot and a shiny chrome grille that collectively screamed “all eyes on me!”
Only 2 500 were built, but the most sought-after by serious collectors are the about 16 remaining examples of the 25 hand-crafted, split-windscreen Series 1 Blackhawks from 1971.
7. An absolute must for a list like this is the only amphibious passenger car ever manufactured for the civilian market. But it wasn’t exactly smooth sailing for the German makers of the Amphicar Model 770, with fewer than 3 900 sold in the ’60s.
Just under R3.1 million was the highest auction price set for an Amphicar in the past five years, but good Amphicars sell for around R2 million, according to Hagerty.
8. If you can recall childhood memories of Noddy’s car, you’ll instantly recognise a Nissan Figaro. Some 20 000 of these little round retro convertibles were produced exclusively for the Japanese market in 1991.
In recent years these small soft tops that resemble cartoon cars are finding favour worldwide as a younger generation of collectors look to Far East markets. According to Hagerty, a Figaro easily fetches around R700 000 at auction.
9. Was this the world’s first minivan? The 1935 Stout Scarab sported an unflattering elongated scarab beetle design, and since each one was individually built to order, only nine were ever made.
10. 2013 Mercedes-Benz AMG G3 6x6. When you picture a 6x6 vehicle you immediately think military, which is what the Mercedes AMG G63 6x6 originally was.
Based on a model for the Australian Army, the 6x6 is nearly 6m long and weighs just over 4 tons. If you want one be prepared to pay in excess of R15 million.